Article
SAT Accommodations for Low Vision
A successful college student with low vision shares her SAT experience.
I remember when I walked in to take my SAT. The day before, my mom and I, along with the testing coordinator for the school I was taking the exam at, spent at least an hour filling out a variety of pretesting forms and filling out my information on what seemed like several dozen pieces of paper. Keeping track of all those forms seemed to be more stressful than taking the exam. When testing day came, the testing coordinator gathered all of the forms and signaled for my mom and I to come to the front of the line so I could be escorted to testing. As my mom and I walked forward, a bunch of parents started yelling at us for cutting the line and seeming like we were more important than everyone else. They started asking what was wrong with us as I was walking away with the testing coordinator. To answer their question, there isn’t anything “wrong” with me, I was just a student who received accommodations for my vision impairment.
We filed for my accommodations at least twelve weeks in advance. While I had taken an AP Exam in the past, the College Board had us resubmit my accommodations because we had to make some minor changes. My accommodations were approved in a reasonable amount of time, and I didn’t have to worry about rescheduling.
I took my test in a small classroom where I was the only student, with at least two staff members present. The overhead lights in the classroom were turned off and replaced with lamps to help with my light sensitivity. I had a giant table to work on my test, and there were computers in the classroom for when it came time to type my essay. I received short, frequent breaks to stretch my legs and walk around the classroom, since I was prone to leg spasms.
The test itself was in 22 point Arial font and came in a spiral-bound book on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. The paper was thick so I didn’t have to worry about the colored Sharpie pens I used bleeding through and obstructing my view of answer choices. Images were enlarged 250%, and math notation such as exponents were enlarged as well.
As for assistive technologies, I used my personal iPad with the app myScript calculator, a calculator that calculates equations that the student writes with their finger and that supports large print. There were no graphing capabilities on this calculator. Guided Access was enabled for the duration of the exam so that I could not access the internet or other apps during the test. I also had access to Microsoft Word 2013 with the dictionary, encyclopedia, and internet functions disabled, for the essay portion of my exam. The essay was printed after I finished typing. If I could go back in time, I would have also used a CCTV device as an extra support during my exam for when I had trouble seeing smaller items.
I received time and a half on the exam, which was adequate for me. I also did not fill out the bubble sheet for the exam, instead having a paraprofessional do it after I had completed testing and left the building. It’s worth noting that I did not receive my scores at the same time as everyone else who tested on the same day as me- I believe I had to wait an additional 4-6 weeks, as is common with most standardized tests that are in an accessible format.
Below, I have outlined my official accommodations for the exam:
- Large print, size 22 Arial point font
- Graphics enlarged to 250%
- Extended time- 150%
- Use of pens on the exam
- Word processing software
- Extra/untimed breaks
- Use of alternative calculator
- Small group testing environment
Overall, taking my SAT exam went incredibly smoothly, and I was able to score very well and get into my top choice college, as well as my second choice. I am grateful that it was a relatively stress-free experience in taking my exam…well, about as stress-free as taking a SAT can be.
By Veroniiiica
